1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a more efficient process of purchasing goods in one location for delivery in another location. More particularly, the present invention relates to a barcode to zipcode shopping application.
2. General Background of the Invention
The process of purchasing an item and having that item shipped and delivered to another location, whether locally or nationwide, often involves many steps including purchase, packaging, shipping, and delivery. The entire process can take days or even weeks, depending on product availability.
The following patent documents were noted as being related: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,960,411; 7,844,481; U.S. Publication Nos. 2002/0152128; 2003/0046173; and 2004/0030572.
In U.S. Publication No. 2003/0046173 a method and system are disclosed for using the stock of one physical store, selected from among many physical stores, for the purpose of making a same-day delivery of a product purchased through a virtual store. The appropriate physical store is selected based upon proximity to the customer and availability of the desired product as indicated by the computerized inventory maintained by the store. Once the store is selected and the customer selects local delivery, the order is sent to the store and a delivery request is sent to a local delivery service that services the store. Upon receipt of the order, delivery tags are printed at the store. An employee of the store pulls the desired products from the store's inventory and tags the products for delivery. The results of the employee's efforts are input into to the system of the invention. If the products are successfully retrieved, then shipping details are received from the shipping service and communicated to the customer. The shipping service then picks up the products and completes the delivery. If the employee is unsuccessful in retrieving the products, this result is used to alter the store's computerized inventory, and, if possible, another store is selected. If no other local store has the item in stock, the shipment is handled through the normal fulfillment processes of the virtual store.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,844,481 discloses system and methods for shipping a package from a package sender to an intended recipient, utilizing Internet communications to place shipping orders, request on-demand package pickup, maintain and utilize pre-stored profile information, view shipping history, track orders, etc. A package sender with an Internet-accessible computer accesses an Internet site and associated shipping system operated by a shipping service provider. The package sender enters information required for shipping the package, including shipping options and methods for payment. The options and payment for the shipment transaction are validated. If the transaction is validated, printer indicia are communicated to the customer's computer, which is enabled to locally print a prepaid label containing special machine-readable as well as human-readable indicia. The shipping service provider acquires the package by drop-off, standard pickup or on-call pickup, scans the machine readable indicia, verifies other indicia of authenticity, and processes the package in accordance with information encoded on the label.
U.S. Publication No. 2004/0030572 discloses a method and system for performing routed deliveries in a highly efficient manner enables both senders and recipients, as appropriate, to monitor relevant delivery routes and track the delivery progress in real time, access delivery summary reports, and manage invoices. Using the system, a same-day on-demand delivery order may be placed by phone or through a web site. A dispatch processor determines a branch server to handle the delivery order and transmits the order to the branch server. If an acknowledgment of the order is not received within a designated amount of time, an alarm is sounded. Upon receipt of the order at the branch server, a dispatch server assigns the delivery order to a driver to perform the delivery. The system also manages operation of same-day large-scale routed deliveries. For routed deliveries, couriers are assigned delivery routes which enable optimized efficiency in performing the routed delivery order in that the delivery stops are automatically placed in the most efficient sequence using a pre-designed, optimized route (e.g. destination address of each stop, travel directions to each stop from the previous stop). For each type of delivery, the courier provides delivery status information status in real time to a branch server as each delivery is made, which enables customers and recipients to track parcel delivery and monitor routes in real time through a web site.
U.S. Publication No. 2002/0152128 discloses a system and method of delivering remotely ordered consumer items including recording a current purchase order of the consumer; scanning a unique product code for entering onto the current purchase order data identifying at least one item; selecting at least one item for the current purchase order from an Internet web page; aggregating one or more items on the current purchase order from at least one merchandiser within a local area; bundling the aggregation of items with at least one item received from beyond the local area; and/or retaining the items at an errand center storefront for retrieval by the consumer or any combination thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,411 is representative of what is in the art.
Amazon.com offers same-day delivery for certain items which are delivered to certain addresses http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html? nodeId=200105970).
1800Flowers offers same-day delivery service for many items. To view the available items, one first puts in the date they wish the items to be delivered, the zip code of the person to whom they are to be delivered, and the type of location to which they will be delivered. The website provides the following statement after such information is entered: “For same-day flower deliveries, order by 2:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, or 11:30 a.m. Sunday in your recipient's time zone. Your flowers will be hand-delivered that same day! Choose from our collection of beautiful flower arrangements, plants, gift baskets, balloons, or our other signature items.” The website can be seen at: http://ww31.1800flowers.com/.
Barnes & Noble offers same-day delivery for certain items in Manhattan, N.Y. As stated on the web site, as long as the order is placed by 11:00 a.m., and the item is one which is available for same day delivery, then the item will be delivered by 7:00 p.m. The webpage can be seen at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/help/cds2.asp?pid=23252.
LivingSpaces Furniture provides same-day delivery for items ordered by 4:00 p.m. Items can be ordered online. The website can be seen at: http://www.livingspaces.com/StorePolicies.aspx
The following U.S. Patents Applications are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/634,808, filed 7 Mar. 2012; and
U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/634,523, filed 2 Mar. 2012.
The following U.S. Trademark registrations are incorporated herein by reference:
U.S. Trademark Registration No. 2005733, registered on 8 Oct. 1996, cancelled on 12 Jul. 2003; U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3724107, registered on 15 Dec. 2009; and, U.S. Trademark Registration No. 3930345, registered on 15 Mar. 2011.